Petra Jewellery business owner Mitch Lloyd appeared on That's TV Hampshire at 6pm on Monday 23rd October. Mitch talks about how great it is to run a business that gives her and her team the chance to make people happy, creating beautiful jewellery they will treasure forever.

"We are delighted to have won Basingstoke Business of the Year Awards 2017, it is an honour to be recognised for the job that we do. We have loved receiving the reviews and reading what our customers think of us.

Are you bright, proactive and enthusiastic? Would you consider yourself to have the maturity to be able to handle pretty much anything that walks in through the door with confidence - even if you don’t necessarily know the solution?We’re looking for someone to join our front of house team, working full time, Tuesday to Saturday as maternity cover until at least May 2016 with the potential to stay on after that.

We were voted the ‘Most Loved Jewellers in the UK’ in 2014 with a very well established customer base both locally and nationally. We are located in a stunning new premises called ‘The Cottage’ where we deliver our core business of selling top quality engagement, wedding and eternity rings, designing and making bespoke pieces with a comprehensive repairs service too.

WHAT'S THE BEST METAL?

Let's clear up a few myths and give you some genuine advice that's going to help you make the right decision on what is something that's hopefully going to last you a lifetime...

I never realised there was so much to think about when choosing my wedding ring... I just thought I’d get something in silver - but now I’ve been educated!

— Dan Waight, Wimbledon

The metal you choose makes a massive difference to how your ring will look and wear over its lifetime.

'White' metals are really popular at the moment and you have these options:

Platinum

18ct white gold

14ct white gold

Palladium (normally similar in price to 14ct)

9ct white gold

Titanium

Silver

These are ranked in price order and you can apply the simple logic that they are pretty much in quality order too, let's explain why...

PLATINUM:

It is the priciest, having a pretty much guaranteed high intrinsic value (because it's great quality and there's not much of it) - that's nice to know for something that might become a family heirloom

It's naturally white and will remain so - whatever you do to it

It's very pure: 95% alloyed with 5% pure white metals iridium or ruthenium. You're extremely unlikely to have any allergy issues with it.

It is very dense so people often like the weighty feel of it and it means in 50 years time it you'll have pretty much the same weight of ring as when you started - it wears incredibly well over time

It will show surface marks but unlike lower grade metals this 'displacement' can simply be polished out without risk of the ring being made thinner.

PLATINUM is the best, simple as that. If cost isn’t a massive issue then don’t compromise with anything else.

— Nicola, Designer, Petra Jewellery

WHITE GOLD:

Even 18ct white gold will vary a lot in terms of quality - depending on what the mix of metals is made up from and how it's worked. 18ct is 75% gold - the other 25% can be a mixed bag.

Some 18ct white gold is actually a straw white colour and it has to be rhodium plated to make it a bright white colour. The problem with a plating is it wears off showing the yellowy colour underneath. We charge £35 to re-rhodium plate your rings and depending on your lifestyle you might need to get it done once a year.

14ct is a bit cheaper than 18ct and no too dissimilar in how well it wears over time. Most of Europe love 14ct and don't bother with 9ct.

9ct white gold, no matter how hard we try to improve the alloy, always has a hint of 'yellow', is less dense and doesn't wear as well over time.

18CT WHITE GOLD can be everything you want for your wedding band - just be aware there’s some lower grades out there that can be high maintenance.

— Laura, Senior Designer, Petra Jewellery

PALLADIUM

A sister metal to platinum, was recognised as an 'official' metal a couple of years ago so now has a UK hallmark and it's 'value' has therefore gone up significantly

It is however less than half the price of platinum; great for your budget, but not quite the 'heirloom' you might want it to be

It is normally 95% alloyed and therefore really pure like platinum

It's a 'gun metal' colour - so not quite as bight a other white metals, but it looks really masculine.

It is lighter than platinum but wears very well over time

PALLADIUM - I love it! I’m a massive fan and now other jewellers are cottoning on to how it’s a great cheaper alternative to platinum.

— Mitch, Owner, Petra Jewellery

TITANIUM

With no hallmark, there is no intrinsic value in a titanium band

It's really tough - if you need a ring that can take a battering then this is a metal you should consider

It is extremely light, which for some is disconcerting, for others a benefit

It can't be re-sized as it can't be 'worked' like the precious metals. Could be a problem if your weight changes over the years or you get arthritis in your knuckles

If it doesn't fit you then you'll need to have a new ring made - not a problem if we've just made it for you - that's our problem, but could be a big problem for you once you've got sententially attached to it (trust us, it does happen)

Titanium is 100% what it is - not alloyed at all and totally hypoallergenic

TITANIUM is great if your budget is £60-£100, leaves more for the lady to have what she wants!

— Ollie, Sales Advisor, Petra Jewellery

SILVER

Not generally regarded as a precious metal, we're talking £20-50 for a plain band, so not a typical choice for wedding rings

Everyone however has a budget and their own spend priorities, silver is a nice white metal and should only tarnish if not worn regularly and on rare occasions reacting to certain skin pHs

Silver will show a lot of marks so if you want something hard wearing consider one of the other options

SILVER would be what I go for and upgrade in the future.

— Amber, Sales Advisor, Petra Jewellery

OTHER GOLD ALLOYS

There are also yellow gold and shades of rose gold and the same advice applies as above for white gold with regard to value and hardness

You can have some fabulous colour combinations with mixing

You won't have any issues with the colour of your ring seeming to change and having to rhodium plate your ring

Be aware 9ct yellow gold is quite dull compared to the hight 14ct and 18ct options.

A NOTE FROM MITCH, author of this blog post and owner of Basingstoke's premier independent family jewellers: Petra Jewellery.

"My mum Petra, is a goldsmith, she's also German and always gives brutally pragmatic advice: DON'T COMPROMISE ON QUALITY and GO FOR THE BEST YOU CAN AFFORD! We've been helping people design their wedding rings since 1979, that's over 36 years' of experience, coupled with a genuine passion for what we do: we want you to love your ring forever; it's got to look right and suit your lifestyle and you've got to be comfortable with what it costs too.

We welcome couples in to our studio to try on different designs, feel the weight and different profiles for themselves and understand what they are getting for their money. We can advise on different finishes such as polished versus satin, having lines engraved, messages, dates, different setting styles: everything you might want to make your ring truly individual and unique to you.

£40 GIFT FOR YOU...

Let us treat you to a voucher for a pair of cufflinks worth £40, that you can perhaps have engraved with a personal message, or your initials maybe. A great gift for your best man or just treat yourself?

Simply pop your name and email address in below and we'll email your voucher over to you as soon as we can, thank you.

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Name

First Name

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Thank you!

We will email your £40 voucher to you in a jiffy!

GOT A QUESTION?

If you have any questions just email us on info@petrajewellery.com or call the Petra Team on 01256 355945.

WANT TO BOOK AN APPOINTMENT?

We'd love to help you design your wedding ring and give you as much design advice as you want... just let us know when you'd like to come in to our studio and we'll make sure we've got on of our expert ready for you. You're very welcome to fill in the appointment request form, simply click the pink button below to fill in a couple of details and we'll get back to you to confirm everything is booked.

Book an appointment here

Book an appointment today

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What would you like to design? *

Engagement rings

Wedding rings

Eternity rings

Commission/bespoke piece

A piece using your old gold

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Thank you! We'll be in touch with you as soon as possible to confirm your free design appointment.

We are delighted to announce that we have now officially moved into our new shop! It's a significantly larger premises; still on site at the Viables Craft Centre: a delightful 100 year old building known as 'The Cottage'. With a splendid retail space, Creative Design suite, workshop and lots more exciting things planned, we are really excited!

This time last year we didn't even have planning permission approved by the council, and today we are standing in our beautiful, newly refurbished Petra Jewellery shop with five times the space, sparkling displays, our very own Creative Suite and onsite Goldsmith!

Petra Jewellery has just celebrated the grand opening of its brand new shop. Well over 100 customers joined owners and staff for a glass of bubbly at the newly refurbished building and a personal tour of 'where the magic happens'.

The family business hasn’t moved far. Having been working from a small converted stable building it was time for the growing team to stretch its wings, remaining at Viables Craft Centre and moving just around the corner to The Cottage, which is around six times the size of the old shop.

The Tour de France is starting and we're super excited to have Festina watches, the official timekeeper of the tour, in stock.

Festina have sponsored the Tour de France since 1992 and are thrilled to still be the official time keepers. The Tour de France collection has been developed this year by Festina and includes a limited edition bike chronograph design.

In April 2015, we held our biggest competition to win an eternity ring worth £1000. All you had to do was simply tell us why you think you or your loved one deserved it!

Caroline entered our competition on behalf of her mum Beverley. Beverley has been a loyal customer ever since Petra first began the business over 36 years ago!

Beverley's Facebook entry sent by her daughter Caroline

Petra handmade Beverleys wedding ring back in 1980 and when she came in to design her winning ring she even brought in the original receipt to show us. Gold and labour was a lot cheaper back then... Beverleys wedding ring was only £42!

Beverleys original receipt of her wedding ring, 4th May 1980

Beverley had an eternity ring her husband bought her when on holiday in Tenerife. Too scared to wear, it's been sat in her jewellery box in case she loses anymore of the blue sapphires that were originally set in it.

30 years later Beverley has this beautiful eternity ring made with the help from Laura, one of our designers.

Beverleys eternity ring with unset diamonds and her original blue sapphires

Handmade from new 18ct yellow gold, we've recycled her remaining 6 blue sapphires and set them in between these 5 GSI clarity diamonds (meaning they really sparkle!)

Beverleys finished ring!

Beverley celebrated with her whole family and a bottle of bubbly, when she came in to design her winning eternity ring. What's more, her daughter Caroline and her fiance Adam, collected their wedding rings from us the same day! Read their design brief here.

Adam, Caroline, Baz and Beverley

Beverley and her husband, Baz, came into collect the finished ring together. The lovely couple sent us some flowers to say thank you, here's what they had to say:

"We wanted to convey how thrilled we are with the beautiful eternity ring. I can't stop lookingat it! I am glad you like the flowers. I hope they complement the lovely pink in your new shop!”

Why not design your own eternity ring?

Book your free design consultation with one of our designers in our VIP Creative Suite.

Need a bit of help finding the perfect ring?

You're going to be wearing your wedding ring for a very, very long time so it's important you find the ring of your dreams.Our lovely expert jewellery designers and diamond specialists have been helping couples like you for over 36 years! Read on to find out where to start...

18ct rose, yellow and white gold vintage diamond wedding rings

"Where do I begin?"

We'll book you in for a free design consultation in our VIP Creative Suite to see either Mitch, Jo or Laura (our fab designers).

They'll sketch you ring designs and talk through prices, metals and possibly stones to suit your lifestyle and budget.

designers: mitch, jo and laura & our vip creative suite

"And then what happens?"

Once you're happy with the design we'll let our goldsmiths know so they can begin creating your wedding ring.

"How long will this take?"

Depending on the detail, having your wedding ring made can take anything from 1-8 weeks.

Once we have your wedding band made, we'll get in touch to ask if you can pop in to test the size. Then we'll take it back to our workshop where we can make any adjustments and make the finishing touches.

If you've got tight deadlines, let us know so we can work towards them and have your ring made in time.

platinum shaped wedding bands made to fit your engagement ring

Ta-da!

Once we collect your ring from the workshop we'll check it over to make sure we're happy with it. We'll be in touch with you to let you know it's ready for collection. Then simply pop in whenever you're ready and collect your wedding ring!

18ct yellow and white gold wedding bands

Ali and Andrew designed their wedding rings together...

Ali and Andrew designed Ali's engagement ring together with help from senior designer, Mitch. The lovely couple were so pleased that they came back to design their wedding rings together. Take a look at what they had made...

from left to right: Andrew's titanium wedding band, andrew and ali at tylney hall, ali's engagement and 'made to fit' wedding ring